Delving Deeper
by Cap'nTabby
Summary: It all started in a little place called Pallet Town with 2 fatherless boys. Friendships are tested in more than one way, and Red discovers things about his past while trying to figure out what to do with his present for the best future. Blue and Team Rocket aren't going to make this any easier either..Rated T just in case
1. Start

**For the record, I started this a long time ago for some friends irl. I'm literally playing through both FireRed and LeafGreen while playing this to get all the little things accurate, while adding in all of the more dramatic content. I aim to shave all of my weird Pokemon headcanons for Trainer Red into this fic, so its been interesting. I've also tried to make the Pokemon world a little more realistic **

**This chapter contains the intro and chapter 1 **

Prolog

"So you can expect us to arrive within the month," an elderly man was saying. His face was displayed on a large viewscreen. A brunette woman sat in front of it, looking up at the man.

"But are you sure you want to move to Pallet Town? There's nothing here," she replied. The older man sighed. "We lost everything in that fire, Ivy. And with Clay gone...it hasn't been the same around here. And I need to help look after that grandson you're going to have, as well as your daughter Daisy. How is she coping with this?"

"She doesn't really understand, but she knows Daddy isn't coming back."

"Poor child..." the man trailed off.

"How is my brother and his wife?" the woman, Ivy, asked.

"Still mourning, but we all are. Kale and Clay were like brothers. It's getting better though. We've all cheered up since purchasing the land the build the new lab." Ivy opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a faint knocking on her front door.

"I'm sorry Oak, but I have to go answer my door. Someone's knocking."

"Who would call this late?" asked Oak, perplexed.

"I don't know, but I'll call you again tomorrow."

"Goodnight Ivy. Take care." His face disappeared from the viewscreen as Ivy stood. She held her hands on her back to help support the extra weight of carrying a baby for five months. The brunette woman waddled to her front door and peeked through the peephole. When she saw who was on her porch, she threw the door open.

"Molly?! Molly Torena?" she asked incredulously. Standing in front of her was a woman about her age, but who looked much older at the moment due to weariness. Her black hair looked flat and lifeless. She was dressed in smart-looking business clothing which consisted of a pencil skirt and blouse. A small rolling luggage bag was at her feet. She smiled weakly up at Ivy.

"Hey, Ivy. Can I stay here tonight?" she asked. Ivy ushered her childhood friend in without question. She lead her to the living room and left for the kitchen to make some tea. When she returned she found Molly staring blankly down into her lap. Worried, she brought over the tea.

"Molly, here. It's your favorite, chai with vanilla." Molly took the mug and let the warm spicy vapors fill her senses. She took a tentative sip. Ivy watched, and after Molly seemed better, asked the question that needed asking. "Molly what happened?"

Molly sipped her tea again, and then placed the mug on a coaster. She folded her hands in lap and looked up at her friend.

"As you know, I started working at Silph Company 3 years ago. Well, two years ago, I was promoted to personal secretary of one of the higher ups," she started. Ivy nodded, she knew all this. Molly continued. "Well, to make a long story short, the man I was the secretary of was the youngest higher up. His name was Geoffrey Rorik. He was considered a business prodigy, and he also was a researcher. And we..started to see each other.

We thought it was just lust at first...it was what we promised ourselves. Not to get attached or anything. But we did anyway. We had plans to get married...I was going to quit working so we could maybe start a family and he was considering going into private research. But then last night..." Molly faltered, and looked back down at her lap. She bit her lip, but continued her story.

"I found out I was pregnant last night. I was scared and overjoyed at the same time. So I rushed to work this morning to tell Geoff, but the president of the company was waiting for me. Somehow they caught wind of our relationship, which was against company policy. They...they shipped Geoff out who knows where and refused to tell me where! He's working somewhere far away, possibly not even in Kanto, and then they fired me! I didn't get to even say goodbye!" She let the tears come now, crying softly and letting the tears fall into her lap.

"He'll never know he has a child..." Molly whispered. Ivy reached out to her friend, enveloping her in a hug, simply holding her as she cried it out. It seemed there would be two children in Pallet Town without fathers.

Chapter 1

Start

~14 years later~

A Nidorino flew from his pokeball, taking a strong battle stance. An enemy Gengar stood opposite them, grinning in it's usual malicious way.

"Use horn attack!" the Nidorino's trainer yelled, pointing at the gengar. The two pokemon flung themselves at each other, and a fierce battle ensued. The trainer expertly gave his pokemon directions for the fight, and right as his Nidorino was about to finish off the gengar, something brushed across the trainer's face. Believing it to be a bug, he swatted at his face, annoyed. There was a brief moment of peace, and then, something smacked his face, hard.

"Eh, w-what hmm?" Red babbled as he was awoken from his dream. His mother's Meowth, Tinker, was sitting on Red's bedpost, holding his paw up. The cat pokemon cocked his head at Red. The young trainer-to-be glared at the Meowth.

"What was that for, Tinker?" he asked, rubbing his face.

"Mrrrreow," the cat meowed, putting its paw down. Red sighed. It was getting close to 9:30 anyway, it was probably best that he was awake now. He slid out of bed and went over to his closet. Pulling on some clothes, he decided to go play his old NES for a bit. He had barely sat down when he heard his mother yell.

"Red! Breakfast!" He stood again and walked down the stairs with Tinker close on his heels. He was greeted by the delicious scent of things frying. His mom smiled when she saw him.

"Were you going to sleep all day? Did you forget that today's the day?" she asked. Red sat down at the table and was promptly given an egg-wrapped rice ball. He put a little ketchup on it before taking a bite.

"No, I didn't forget," he said through a mouth-full of food. He wolfed down his meal, eager to be off. His mother smiled sadly.

"Right, well, all boys leave someday… It said so on TV.." she started, a slight twinkle in her eyes nonetheless.

"Mom, do you get all life advice from television?" he asked her in a joking tone. She chuckled. "Oh yes of course Red. By the way, Professor Oak was looking for you. I think you know why." "Yep, Mom, I do." Red allowed his mother to smother him in a affectionate motherly hug. He was struck by the fact that this might be the last time he would see her for a few weeks. He returned the hug. When they broke apart, his mother tried to wipe away a tear without Red noticing as she went behind the counter. She returned with a yellow backpack.

"Here, take this," she said, holding out the bag, "you're going to need it. I put a few things in it already."

"Thanks Mom," he took the pack from her and slung it onto his back, "I'm going to go find Professor Oak now." She hugged him one last time, and he opened the door and stepped out. He turned to close the door behind him, and when he turned around again and took a step forward, he yelped as he collided with something. Both he and the something went sprawling.

"Owww..." came a voice. He looked up to see one of his friends, Leaf, rubbing her forehead. When he realized what had happened he flushed, embarrassed that he had knocked someone down. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry Leaf! I didn't see you there!" he exclaimed, jumping up to his feet and offering her his hand. Now it was her turn to flush, and she held up her hands in protest.

"No, it's my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going, Red..." He rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand, pulling her up. Leaf brushed off her...short...skirt, Red noticed, and adjusted her bag.

"Um, Leaf? What are you wearing?" Red asked. He was used to seeing her dressed like a tomboy, after growing up with boys. Pants and t-shirts were her usual wardrobe, not tank tops and mini-skirts. Leaf rolled her eyes.

"Geeze, Blue had the same reaction this morning. If he wasn't my cousin I would have accused him of gawking.." she peered at Red, hands on her hips, "YOU aren't gawking, now, are you?"

"What? No. I'm just not used to seeing you dressed so...girly."

"Uh huh. That's what they all say," Leaf teased, flicking Red's nose. "Well we better head over to Oak's lab, Blue's probably already over there," she announced, starting to walk in the direction of the lab. Red sighed, rubbing his nose. The lab was practically next door to Red's house so they were there in a matter of seconds. Inside they were greeted by Leaf's father, Dr. Greene, who was one of Oak's aids.

"Hey kids!" he greeted from the computer he was seated at. "Blue is in here somewhere." "Thanks Dad!" Leaf called. She and Red walked further back in the lab, where an unmistakable spiky haired redhead was standing. He heard them coming and turned with an expectant look on his face. When he saw that it was only them, he sighed.

"It's only Red and Leaf? If you're looking for Gramps, he isn't around.." he trailed off mid-sentence as the Professor himself walked into the lab.

"Blue! Leaf! Red! Good, you all made it," he said as he walked up. Blue crossed his arms. "Hurry up, Gramps, I'm through with waiting!"

"Patience, Blue," Oak hushed his grandson, "all three of you will receive one of the three pokemon behind me. When I was young, I was a serious pokemon trainer, but now, in my old age, I only have these three left. Go on, take a look you three." Red, Leaf, and Blue all stepped up to the pokeballs. The names were listed below each of the balls. There was a Bulbasaur, a Squirtle, and a Charmander. The three kids exchanged glances. They all had already made up their minds. Simultaneously, they all reached for a pokeball.

"I choose this one!" they said in unison. Oak smirked at them. "So, Leaf chose Bulbasaur, Blue chose Squirtle, and Red chose Charmander. All three are quite energetic." Blue eyed Red.

"My pokemon looks a lot tougher than yours, Red. Let's check out our pokemon! Come on, I'll take you on!" Red grinned.

"Okay Blue, I'm game." Leaf and Professor Oak rolled their eyes at the two teen boys.

"Oh for Pete's sake, so pushy, as always," muttered Oak. Leaf nodded in agreement.

"You should see them when we play board games," she told the professor. She brought out her new Bulbasaur to observe the fight.

"Bul! Bulba!" it croaked at her. Leaf smiled at the grass-type.

"I'm going to name you...Sola!"

"Bulba-saur!" Sola croaked her approval. Red summoned his own starter, Charmander.

"Char char!" it yipped. He crouched down in front of it.

"Hmm..Charmander...what's a good name for you?" he wondered aloud.

"You're nicknaming it? How silly," scoffed Blue, "hurry up so we can battle already!" Red ignored his rival. Charmander looked at him, waiting. Red smacked his fist on his palm suddenly.

"I've got it!" he exclaimed, "you can be Fygar!" The newly named pokemon yapped his approval. Red stood up and looked at Blue. "I'm ready, Blue," he announced. Fygar took a battle stance in front of red. Blue rolled his eyes and summoned his new Squirtle.

"Squi-squirtle!" it barked. Both of the starter pokemon faced each other, awaiting orders from the trainers. Blue started immediately.

"Squirtle! Use Tail Whip!" he ordered. The water pokemon rushed at Fygar, lashing out with his tail. The young Charmander flinched a bit at the contact, but seemed otherwise unharmed.

"What? Why didn't that do any damage?" whined Blue. Oak chuckled.

"Tail Whip is a stat-changing move. It lowers your opponent's defense," the Professor explained. Red put this information in the back of his mind as he re-focused on the battle.

"Fygar! Scratch him!"

"Dodge it, Squirtle, and Tackle him!" Fygar lashed at Squirtle with his claws. The water pokemon dodged, but not quite fast enough. The fire pokemon's claws clipped him, causing some damage. Squirtle growled and tackled Fygar in return.

"Good!" praised Oak, "dealing damage is the key to any battle!"

"Fygar, use Growl to lower his attach, and Scratch him again if you can!" Red said.

"Char!" Fygar spun around to face the Squirtle, a high-pitched growl growing in his throat. Red was glad he had studied pokemon moves before today.

"Use Tackle before he can attack you!" barked Blue. The Squirtle jumped towards Fygar immediately, earning a full hit. Fygar received damage, but it was lessened, thanks to Growl. The Charmander didn't forget Red's second command however, and while the Squirtle was still close from the Tackle, Fygar gave him a good rake-over with his claws. Squirtle yelped in pain, taking more damage than he normally would.

"Oh! A critical hit!" noticed Leaf. Blue grumbled in frustration.

"Use Tackle every chance you get!" he commanded his partner. Red was quick to retaliate. "Dodge as best you can, Fygar! And keep Growling to power down those attacks!" The two pokemon quickly entered into a game of attack and dodge. Red watched the movements closely, waiting for an opening. Squirtle did manage to get a few attacks in, but they were seriously lacking in power due to the growls from the Charmander. Finally Red saw it.

"Scratch now, Fygar!" Squirtle came in for another tackle, too close. Fygar raised his claws, and with a quick swipe scratched the other pokemon. Squirtle wobbled on his feet for a moment before fainting.

"WHAT? Unbelievable!" exclaimed Blue, "I must have picked the wrong pokemon!" Leaf clapped her hands.

"That was a good battle you guys!" she told them. Blue huffed at his cousin's words and returned the fainted Squirtle back to his pokeball.

"Hm! Excellent, both of you! Battling makes pokemon stronger, so battling other trainers helps your pokemon grow!" Oak informed them. Blue tightened his fist, his face serious.

"Okay, I'll go all over Kanto and challenge every Trainer I meet! I'll toughen up my pokemon through battle and beat you next time, Red!" Blue turned to look at Red. "Well, I'm leaving now, so I'll sm-"

"Not so fast, Blue," interrupted Oak, "there are some things I wish to tell all of you." Blue crossed his arms, but he stayed put. Oak continued.

"You all are about to enter the world and have a grand adventure. I have some advice for you. Speak to people and check things wherever you go, be it in towns, roads, or caves. It pays to be observant. Gather information from every source about where you are and about everything. And don't forget to help others in need. New paths tend to open up to people who are kind. Through your adventures, I hope that you will meet all sorts of people and achieve personal growth. That is the main objective here." Oak finished his speech and looked at the three new trainers.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?!" he asked. Blue gave a single-handed wave.

"Smell ya later, Gramps, Leaf, Red." He walked out of the lab, not looking back once. Leaf was also walking out.

"I would leave with you, but I need to run to the store for my Mom first. I'll see you around, Red!" Leaf called over her shoulder, Sola the Bulbasaur close on her heels. Fygar jumped into Red's arms. Oak placed a hand on Red's shoulder.

"Good luck, Red. Make us all proud!"

"Thanks, Professor!" Red said, and then headed out of the lab and towards route 1.

...

**Well, I'm going to force myself to write down some more stuff from where I am game wise before I offer the next installment. But I am very curious to know what everyone thinks of my take on the whole Red's Journey fic**

**Message me on tumblr if you want to seriously talk pokemon story schematics. **

**Tabby out~**


	2. Route 1

**God I'm going to regret this later, but I hate just having a story just sit on my computer...so yeah**

**This one's kinda long, but let's face it, this is gonna be a long ass story by the time its done**

Red unrolled his sleeping bag. He and Fygar were almost to Viridian City, but they couldn't make it tonight. Both Trainer and pokeman were exhausted from the countless wild pokemon battles they had done since leaving Pallet Town. Fygar was definitely growing stronger from the encounters though. He had learned a new move, Ember.

When Red was done unrolling his sleeping bag, he cleared a small spot and made a place for a small fire. When there were some sticks gathered, Fygar used Ember to light them. The Charmander stayed by the fire to keep it going as Red hunted for larger pieces of wood. In no time they had a decent campfire. Red sat down and pulled of his pack. His mother had placed a few handy items in the bag. He was looking for the potion he had seen in the bag earlier, when his hand brushed on something. Curious, he pulled it out. Red almost dropped the object in surprise when he saw it.

His mother had gotten him the latest model of PokeGear. It was a tool used by trainers to monitor their pokemon in and out of battle. It was worn like a wrist watch. Red quickly fastened it to his arm and checked its features. It would let him know his pokemon's health, moves, and level. He scanned Fygar with it to enter his data into the device. He would have to thank his mother the next time he saw her.

"Okay, enough fiddling with this...let's give you a potion, Fygar." Red found the potion he was looking for and sprayed the purple medicine onto the fire-type.

"Chaaaarrrr..." sighed Fygar, enjoying the sensation of having his various scrapes and bruises healed. Next Red fished a can of pokemon food out of the bag as well as his own food. He opened the bag and poured out some food for Fygar. The little Charmander made quick work of his meal. Red ate his own food much more slowly before getting into his sleeping bag. Fygar curled up next to him. Soon both were asleep.

…..

"We did it Fygar! Viridian City!" Red said as the buildings of the city came into view. Fygar yapped happily from Red's shoulder, where he was currently hanging from. Red glanced behind him at the burning tail of his starter.

"We should put you back in your pokeball for now, so you don't catch anything on fire. And so we can stop by the Pokemon Center." Fygar hopped down from Red and allowed his trainer to return him to his pokeball. Once he had, Red started to look for the red roof of the city's Pokemon Center. It was easy to spot, and it was one of the first buildings in the city. Red got to the building and stepped through the automatic doors. The center had a warm atmosphere, and a few people milled about. Directly ahead was a pink-haired nurse behind a counter. Red walked up to her.

"Hello, and welcome to the Pokemon Center!" greeted the nurse, "we can heal your pokemon back to perfect health, would you like us to do so?"

"Yes, please," Red replied, offering Fygar's pokeball. The nurse took it and walked to a large machine. It had slots for up to six pokeballs. She placed the red and white capsule in one of the slots and pressed a few buttons. The machine enclosed the pokeball in a glass chamber. A warm, pulsating light surrounded the ball. Red watched the entire process, transfixed. The nurse noticed this.

"Is this your first time getting your pokemon healed here?" she asked. Red nodded, not taking his eyes off of Fygar's pokeball.

"I just became a trainer," he explained. The nurse smiled as the machine beeped. The glass hissed open and she retrieved the ball, bringing it over to Red.

"There you go, good as new! We hope to see you again!" she said, bowing slightly. Red awkwardly bobbed a bow in return, and thanked her. He exited the Pokemon Center and started to look for the PokeMart. He needed to buy some potions for the days ahead. When he stepped into the Mart, however, he wasn't able to buy anything.

"Hey, kid! Are you from Pallet Town?" asked the clerk from behind the counter. Red just nodded. The clerk motioned him over. Red went up to counter and watched as the clerk brought out a package.

"This parcel came in for Professor Oak. Is there anyway you can get this to him?"

"Sure," Red said, taking the small package. It wasn't very heavy, and Red wondered what the Professor could have ordered. Red suddenly realized that he would have to go all the way back to Pallet Town to deliver the parcel, which would take at least another two days round trip. The clerk seemed to read Red's mind.

"Don't worry, you don't actually have to go to Oak in person, kid. Just send it to him with the PC in the Pokemon Center. I would do it myself, but I don't have his number." Red sighed with relief. "Thanks for the tip. I'll be back to get some supplies later," Red told the clerk as he exited the store. He was at the Pokemon Center in no time, and at the PC even quicker. Red logged into his PC account and entered Oak's number. After a few moments, the gray-haired researcher's face appeared on the screen.

"Red! What can I do for you, my boy?" he asked cheerfully.

"The PokeMart in Viridian City had a package for you," Red said, holding up the parcel for Oak to see. "I'm sending it over." Oak nodded, and Red placed the parcel on the PC's platform. A few keystrokes later, and the package was teleported to Oak.

"Oh, it finally came!" Oak said with excitement when he received the package. He held up a pure white pokeball. "I ordered a custom pokeball...speaking of pokeballs, I forgot to do something while all three of you were here." Oak disappeared from the screen for a moment, and then returned holding a red device and some pokeballs.

"This is my invention, the PokeDex. It will record the data of every pokemon you catch, which will help me greatly with my research. And here are some pokeballs to get you started," Oak said, sending the items over. Red put the pokeballs in his bag, but kept the PokeDex out.

"Whenever you catch a pokemon, data about it will be entered into this device. Think of it like a high-tech encyclopedia," explained the Professor. "As you may know, Red, I lost all of my research on pokemon about a year before you were born. I've been researching myself since then, but I can't get the detailed field information myself."

"The lab fire...yeah, I've heard about it..." Red said softly. It was the same fire that had killed the Professor's son, who was also Blue's father. Oak nodded, sensing the mood change.

"Yes, my research wasn't the only thing lost that day..." Oak trailed off, but quickly collected himself. "But all three of you kids can help me now, by finding as many pokemon as you can!"

"I'll do my best, Professor," Red said, putting the PokeDex in his pocket. "Thank you for the pokeballs," he added.

"Don't mention it! Now get out there! Kanto awaits!" Red headed back to the outskirts of Viridian City and onto route 1. He had just come from the PokeMart, where he had purchased some more Potions and a few poison antidotes for the road. He would have continued north to Viridian Forest, but he knew that there was a type of pokemon he wanted on this route, and it couldn't hurt to train Fygar a little more.

A while later, Red stumbled upon what he had been looking for, a Pidgey. It squawked at him, since he had snuck up on it. The bird ruffled its feathers angrily. "Go, Fygar!" Red threw his starter's pokeball, releasing him. Fygar growled as he came out. The Pidgey didn't back down, instead throwing a Tackle at the fire-type.

"Dodge it! And use Ember!" Red instructed, watching the battle and his PokeGear at the same time. The device also allowed him watch the opposing pokemon's health. He didn't want to knock out the Pidgey, since you couldn't catch fainted pokemon. Fygar spit a mouth-full of fiery sparks towards the Pidgey. It dealt significant damage, almost knocking it out.

"That was close," Red muttered, quickly scrounging into his bag for one of the pokeballs. He felt one and pulled it out, wasting no time and throwing it towards the bird pokemon. It squawked in protest, but disappeared within the ball. Red and Fygar both watched intently as the ball shook on the ground. After an agonizing minute, the ball clicked.

"Gotcha!" Red punched the air in victory. He picked up the ball. "What should we call him.." he summoned the Pidgey in front of him. It flapped its wings, stirring up a little dust as it landed. It glanced up at Red, not really sure what to make of its predicament. Red laughed slightly.

"Well, how about Dusty then?"

"Char!" Fygar seemed to approve. The Pidgey blinked at him. Red laughed again, louder this time. He took out a potion and gave it to the newly-named Dusty.

"Don't worry. Having a trainer isn't all that bad. Why don't you watch me and Fygar train so you can see for yourself." Red walked further into the grass, hunting for another wild pokemon. The Pidgey flapped up into a tree to watch, still somewhat unconvinced. Red smirked. He was going to have fun with this.

…...

"See? You've already learned a new move!" Red praised. Dusty had finally joined in the training with Fygar and Red. The bird pokemon had just mastered the move Gust, and he was quite proud of himself. Red glanced up at the sky. It was getting dark.

"Go ahead and return to your balls, guys. Take a rest. It's time to head back into town for the night." The two pokemon returned to their respective pokeballs, and Red started the short trek back to Viridian City. There was a small inn Red knew of that he was planning on spending the night in, but he stopped by the Pokemon Center first to heal up Fygar and Dusty.

When he got to his room, Red lie awake for a awhile. His two pokemon were sleeping in their pokeballs on the nightstand. There was too much on Red's mind at the moment for him to fall asleep. He was currently thinking of things he hadn't thought of in awhile, such as the lab fire that happened before he was born. His own mother had not been present at the time, but Red had heard some of Oak's aides talking about it before. Oak's son, Clayton, had been trapped in the building and perished in the flames, leaving behind a three-year old daughter and a wife who was 1 month pregnant with Blue. It was actually why he and Blue had been so close when they were younger. Red had been able to relate with Blue, since he had also grown up without a father. Professor Oak had taken both boys under his wing, teaching them various life lessons as they grew up. And Blue's cousin, Leaf, had tagged along, being only a few months younger than them.

As they aged, however, several things had split them apart. One factor was simply knowledge. When anyone ages, they start to ask questions. Red had asked his mother if his father was dead like Blue's. His mother had said, 'no, he just doesn't know where we are,' the younger Red had been excited by the fact that he had a father out there somewhere, and of course told Blue and Leaf. Red could understand now why Blue had gotten angry, but at the time, he didn't. Blue had been jealous of Red having a chance to at least meet his father. They hadn't spoken to each other for a few days after that one. It was around that time that Blue started trying to be better than Red at everything.

Another factor that had separated them was probably puberty. With all the hormones flying around, tempers and emotions were always on edge. Now that they were 14 going on 15, it had calmed down some, but things still got weird every now and then. Red seemed to mature faster, but Blue physically grew faster. Girls seemed to like Blue more, and the competitiveness in them only grew with their testosterone levels. And of course, there was the Leaf problem.

Things had gotten..slightly weird between Red and Leaf, and Blue had picked up on it. He was practically Leaf's brother so the protective mode had been activated. Red always got mad whenever Blue brought the subject up, insisting there was nothing going on.

He did NOT like Leaf Greene in that fashion. She was just a friend, with raging teenage hormones just making everything awkward.

His mind still churning with memories, Red eventually feel asleep.

…...

"Mai!" said Red, making up his mind. A female Mankey glared up at him. He was on route 22, just outside the city. The young trainer had received a tip from someone in the hotel he had stayed at to check out route 22 for pokemon. He was not disappointed. A fighting-type pokemon would make a good addition to the team. This Mankey, now 'Mai,' was the second one he had found. He had accidentally knocked out the first one. Fygar and Dusty were getting strong enough to knock out low-level pokemon with one attack.

"All right, return for now, Mai!" Red held out the pokeball for his new pokemon. After putting the ball on his belt alongside his others, he walked back to Viridian City. He would have stayed to try and catch the other pokemon rumored to be in the area, but Red had decided to focus on training for now. Filling the PokeDex wasn't going to be Red's main concern, he had instead made the decision to fill it after he got a few gym badges.

When he got back to Viridean City, he checked the road signs. Viridian Forest was north from here. Red went back to the Pokemon Center one last time to make sure his team was fully healed and battle-ready before he braved the forest.

On his way out, he glanced wistfully at the Viridian City Gym. It was closed, and no one in town knew why. Apparently this gym was the last of the 8 gyms in the region, and the Leader only came around when a trainer with the 7 other badges was going to be passing through. The last time anyone in Viridian had seen the gym Leader was around 2 years ago. No one had come challenging, so no one was too worried. Red was curious about the whole thing, and now he wanted to get through the Forest and to Pewter City, where the first gym was located. If he could get all 7 badges, he would be able to challenge this last, mysterious Leader and try for all 8 Kanto badges.

Red put the gym business out of his mind and kept walking. The road was already getting more trees along the sides. Up ahead he could see the dark shape of the forest. There was a highway station-gate to the forest ahead. He entered the structure, making one last check on his supplies. A woman noticed what he was doing.

"Are you planning on going into Viridian Forest?" she asked. Red nodded. "Be careful. It's a natural maze out there," she warned.

"I will, thank you," Red replied. He adjusted his bag and stepped through the gate and into the forest.

His first impression of the forest was how green it was. The thick trees filtered the sunlight, turning a lot of it green as it went through leaves. The sheer amount of plant greenery only added to this effect. And it was _endless. _Everywhere Red looked, it was trees, trees, some grass, and more trees. There did seem to be some type of path however, winding through the foliage. The woman at the gate had been right, this place was a maze. Red wondered how long he would be stuck traversing the place. Sighing, he stood a bit straighter and forged ahead.

…...

"Use Gust!" Dusty cawed at he sliced his wings through the air, sending a blast of air towards a Metapod.

"Oh no!" wailed its trainer, a young bug-catcher by the name of Doug. The Metapod fell over, fainted. The younger trainer returned to cocoon-pokemon to its ball.

"You did good, Patch," he said, reassuring the bug-type. He looked up to Red, and gave him the prize money for winning. "You're good. Nice pokemon, too. I still prefer bugs though."

"And that's fine. Everybody has a preference," Red told him. He returned Dusty to his ball. This was about his third trainer battle in the forest, and he had discovered that Dusty's Gust was super effective against bug-pokemon. He had written this down in his notebook full of pokemon notes. Doug bid him farewell, and went back to combing the ground, net at the ready. Red continued on through the grass. He was just trekking along when suddenly,

"Ow!" he yelped, rubbing his leg. He saw the culprit scurrying away. "Not so fast!" he released Mai the Mankey. He had found out rather quickly that Mai's fighting-type move, Low Kick, barely phased the bug pokemon. Which was perfect if he wanted to catch one. And at the moment, he had his sights on the Weedle that had just bit him.

The Weedle had other ideas. It scuttled on its many legs into the grass. Red and Mai went crashing after the little caterpillar. They followed it through the trees until they found themselves in a clearing. When they entered the area, both trainer and pokemon skidded to a stop, dumbstruck. They were surrounded by bug pokemon. It seemed as if they had stumbled upon a colony of sorts. It was mainly Weedle and Caterpies in the clearing, but a few Kakuna and Metapods lingered in the trees. The Weedle that had bit Red was surrounded by other bug-types. It growled at him.

"Are you the little queen of this colony?" Red asked the Weedle. He withdrew Mai and brought out Dusty. He was going to have to clear out some of these other pokemon before he could get to her.

"Use Gust!" he instructed. Dusty complied, flapping up into the air and sending a burst of wind towards the swarm. It blew most of them away, but a few hung on.

"Tackle the others, as quick as you can!" Red readied an empty pokeball, a plan forming in his mind. Dusty cleared out the other Weedle and Caterpies quickly, or just shoved them out of the way. "Okay Dusty, Tackle the main Weedle! Not too hard though!" Dusty squawked and slammed his body into the Weedle. It squeaked in protest, but didn't faint. Red pulled his arm back and threw the empty pokeball. He crossed his fingers as the ball drew in the Weedle. It landed on the grass, wobbling ack and forth. _Click. _

"Ha! Yeah! Got it!" he celebrated, walking over to retrieve his new pokemon. He paused as he bent down to pick it up. He heard something.

"Aaack! Pffffffft! AA-CHOO!" Red turned his head in the direction of the sound. Had he just heard someone sneeze? His thoughts were interrupted as a large Butterfree practically exploded from the thicket, almost knocking Red over. It soared up to the tree tops and was gone.

"Whoa!" Red exclaimed. "I didn't realize how big Butterfrees were..." his eyes found themselves looking at the area where the Butterfree had emerged from. It was the same place he had heard the sneeze come from. Curious, Red withdrew Dusty and started for that area. He walked for a few feet through the dense part of the trees before coming to another clearing, this one larger than the one he had just been in. Two beings were in its center, causing Red to freeze when he saw them.

It was Leaf and her Bulbasaur, Sola. Both appeared to be fast asleep in rather unnatural positions. Sola was on her face, like she had leaped out and suddenly fallen asleep. Leaf looked as if she had fallen over on her side. Red rushed over to see if they were alright. As he got closer, it all started to make sense. Leaf and Sola were sprinkled with a greenish powder. Red had only ever seen pictures of the stuff in books, but it was without a doubt Sleeping Powder, most likely from the Butterfree he had seen earlier. Red frowned. He had some potions, antidotes, and even a paralyz heal in his bag, but he didn't have any awakenings. Pokemon induced sleep had to be slept off or awoken with medicine. So Leaf was going to be asleep for awhile, and Red couldn't just leave her here. The smaller clearing he had just come from would make a better camp than where they were now, he decided. All of the bug pokemon had fled after he had dropped in and captured Weedle, so it would be safe now.

He released Fygar and Mai to join Dusty.

"I need you guys to help and carry Sola, the Bulbasaur, as best you can," he told them. His pokemon went over to the grass-type as he approached Leaf. He retrieved her bag first, slinging it over his shoulder to get it out of the way. Red then pulled Leaf into a sitting position, lightly brushing the powder off of her. Carefully, he put one arm around her waist and pulled her to him. With his other hand, he put her closest arm around his neck. As he did this, Leaf's head rolled forward, her forehead coming to rest on his neck. Trying his best to ignore this fact, Red placed his other arm under her knees and hoisted her up into his arms fully. He glanced at his pokemon.

Fygar was helping Mai get Sola on top of herself so she could carry the plant-type more easily. They eventually accomplished this feat, and Dusty swooped over them, holding Sola steady with his feet. Red called them over, and together, they started the trek back to the first clearing. Even though no one else was around, Red could feel his ears turning pink. He could feel Leaf breathing onto his collarbone, and it was giving him weird goosebumps.

When they got back to the clearing, Red's suspicions were confirmed. The wild bug-types had fled the scene, leaving the area vacant.

"Okay guys, bring Sola over here," Red said, gently leaning Leaf against a tree trunk. They came trotting over, and Red saved Sola from them before they could drop her. He put her in Leaf's lap. He then busied himself with setting up camp. Mai and Dusty helped him find wood for a fire, and Fygar lit it as usual. Red gave them their food and took out his bedroll, but didn't unroll it yet. He took off Leaf's bag and found her sleeping bag. He laid out her bedding by the fire and unzipped it all the way. After unfolding the thing completely, he went back over to the sleeping girl. Red picked her up again, making sure he also had Sola. He brought her over to her sleeping bag and carefully laid her down in it, placing Sola with her. After removing her shoes, he zipped the bag shut.

Red went and ate his dinner as the sky grew darker. He stoked the fire with a few more pieces of wood, and noticed the droopy look in his pokemon's eyes. Fygar was already passed out by the fire, with his tail partially in it.

"Okay guys, return and get some rest," he said, holding out their pokeballs. He let Fygar sleep were he was. Red fought a yawn. Giving up, he reached for his own sleeping bag, unrolling it so his head would be by Leaf's but so his feet pointing in the opposite direction so he could also sleep by the fire. He removed his shoes and crawled into his bedding, falling asleep while watching the flames and listening to Leaf's little sleeping wheezes.

**Yeah, I ship things hard. Anyway, it's actually kinda of fun to figure out Red on paper. I don't think he would start out as a strong silent mysterious broody trainer like so many others make him out to be. I think he would be like any average kid who grew up in a small town, and then finishing growing up out in the world. We'll just have to wait and see what that world does to Red. **

**Also, I'm taking artistic license for some things I've added to the Kanto games, such as the Pokegear. It just seems like they would have a better way of calling people..And I've made a few changes to how the PCs work...so be ready for that**

**Tabby out**


End file.
